This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1950. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

Why Historical Insurance Policies May Be Accessible

Pre-1986 Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies were occurrence-based and did not contain an effective pollution exclusion in Washington. If contamination occurred while those policies were active, those historical insurance carriers may still have a legal obligation to fund the cleanup costs, even if the business closed or the property changed hands.

Documented releases from aboveground storage tanks and pipelines at this terminal occurred in 1976, 1978, and 1984 — each a pre-1986 occurrence squarely within the coverage window of occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion. Operations here date to 1950, meaning historical carriers issued CGL policies across more than three decades of bulk fuel handling before the pollution exclusion became standard in Washington. The costs already incurred — soil excavation, years of LNAPL recovery, vapor extraction, and long-term monitoring — and those projected under the preferred remedy represent expenditures that historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.

Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.